The RAMS Forum

Bottom post of the previous page:

Life was better when Curl, Kinchens, and Lake were operating together. Much like McVay relies on Stafford, Shula relies on Lake.

And a shutdown corner is needed.

RAMFAN71 wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 8:50 am

NorCal RF wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 8:14 am

Change to what? It’s game 18. You don’t think he hasn’t played every scheme that he thinks will work with this personnel?………

Why is it so hard for some to understand that it’s not the scheme that has receivers running wide open. Run any scheme you want, any. Hell we can suggest to him hey Chris I think you should do this, and the opposing receivers will still be wide open. Why? Talent of players in secondary! Why? Talent of players in secondary……

Oh and it is not who is wearing the green dot…….

And why the all of a sudden negativity on Landman by some? He has had a damn good season for us…….

Hey I enjoy our back n forth, n you are a damn good poster, but saying it’s scheme well JMO it is no way in hell scheme at this point in season………

I agree the CBs suck. I think the S are ok. I like Curl...Kinchens has potential. Just wondering how you square the week 12 plummet with "these guys just suck and can't play" How is it that it took week 12? Same guys....minus QL who gets hurt.

Are we saying receivers were not running open before week 12? If so they were. How many times have we talked in here, the first 2 months, how the secondary wasn’t playing well. Indy game, first S.F. game, Philly game second half…….

Now have they had some good games? Sure. NO, Tampa, first Seattle game comes to mind. But Darnell n Mayfield were god awful in both………

Hell we were complaining about D. Williams, Forbes, Witherspoon, Durant, etc in here last year……..

^^^^No- not the opinions that these guys stink. Cornell posted STATS that have our CB group in top 3 weeks 1-12. That seems crazy to me, and it's hard to square that with what we see/know. Leopards don't change their spots. They always sucked. Sp basically you are saying that the opposing teams- their QB- was just not good vs our guys. Masking the fact that they stink. It's all pretty weird to me. that stat line seems wrong.

NorCal RF wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 8:14 am

brasilrams wrote: ↑January 8th, 2026, 9:35 pm

The current scheme is ALSO getting beat for big plays and big scores constantly . He needs to change . If it is even worse than what it is now , then , go back to what it is now but what if it works better ? The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. To me , it is insanity what they are doing here . Every damn game the scheme is the same , the secondary is the same and they ALWAYS SUCK . So ..... Blitz more , play man to man more , take a RISK , do SOMETHING .

Change to what? It’s game 18. You don’t think he hasn’t played every scheme that he thinks will work with this personnel?………

Why is it so hard for some to understand that it’s not the scheme that has receivers running wide open. Run any scheme you want, any. Hell we can suggest to him hey Chris I think you should do this, and the opposing receivers will still be wide open. Why? Talent of players in secondary! Why? Talent of players in secondary……

Oh and it is not who is wearing the green dot…….

And why the all of a sudden negativity on Landman by some? He has had a damn good season for us…….

Hey I enjoy our back n forth, n you are a damn good poster, but saying it’s scheme well JMO it is no way in hell scheme at this point in season………

Always a good back-and-forth, and yeah, we’ll have to agree to disagree. You place the blame for this epic failure of the secondary entirely on the players — I don’t. I also blame the coaches.

I didn’t see Shula making meaningful adjustments. What I saw was the same scheme being run week after week, and the same scheme failing week after week. I’m not saying it’s all his fault. I know our CBs are bad and lack talent in a big way.

But I don’t like his play-calling in a lot of situations, and I do think he kept sticking with the same scheme every game, hoping it would eventually work — and it never did.

You’re telling me our CBs are so bad — that bad — that they simply can’t keep up with wide receivers? That this alone explains why WRs are running wide open all the time?

Again, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

RAMFAN71 wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 11:31 am ^^^^No- not the opinions that these guys stink. Cornell posted STATS that have our CB group in top 3 weeks 1-12. That seems crazy to me, and it's hard to square that with what we see/know. Leopards don't change their spots. They always sucked. Sp basically you are saying that the opposing teams- their QB- was just not good vs our guys. Masking the fact that they stink. It's all pretty weird to me. that stat line seems wrong.

Something clearly happened, and we don’t know what. From Weeks 1–10, our secondary was actually good — very good. Even Forbes was playing extremely well for about a month. They had a few bad games here and there, but overall they were a solid unit.

Then, from Weeks 10–17, everything collapsed. All of a sudden, they couldn’t cover anyone. Every CB started getting burned constantly, receivers were running wide open all over the field, and now they literally look — and rank — like a bottom-three unit in the league.

Losing one safety, even if it’s the guy wearing the green dot, simply cannot explain that kind of drop-off.

My guess is that some teams identified a specific weakness, put the tape out there, and then everyone else started copying it. That’s how this league works — teams study tape. Even McVay’s offense went through stretches in past years where it got figured out until he adjusted.

The problem is that it’s taking Shula far too long to find an answer. That is why I don't like a DC that is learning on the job. Like I’ve said before, our CBs lack top-end talent, but I know they can play better — because they already did from Weeks 1–10.

RAMFAN71 wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 11:31 am ^^^^No- not the opinions that these guys stink. Cornell posted STATS that have our CB group in top 3 weeks 1-12. That seems crazy to me, and it's hard to square that with what we see/know. Leopards don't change their spots. They always sucked. Sp basically you are saying that the opposing teams- their QB- was just not good vs our guys. Masking the fact that they stink. It's all pretty weird to me. that stat line seems wrong.

Really is ngt and day w weeks 1-12 VS weeks 13-17.

Amazing actually.

Tale of two seasons almost, or tale of two Rams defensive teams. To go from what we were doing in games 1-12, many of us raved in here (including me)... THEN, something happened, weak spots were exposed and Carolina attacked, other teams took note... D has not been the same since.

Many complain that Shula plays off coverage too much. This is one of the reasons why, its not the scheme it's the player. Scheme allows defender to play up on wr, as you can see here.

And again here. Scheme allows for defender to play man coverage up close and personnel. It isn't the scheme it's the player. Shula plays off so much bc the DBs aren't good

Shula again calls for tight man coverage, did it matter? Nope

All anyone can really ask is why has McSnead failed to address this massive weakness?

Why does McSnead seem to prefer undersized corners that lack physicality?

The coaches and GM assembled this group, so it’s just not on the players… it’s on the coaches for selecting this group.

If I may add, this group doesn’t ever seem to anticipate what the opposition is running. In today’s game, one thing that stood out was the Panthers defense seemed to have a good grasp of what we were running, and adjusted as the play lined up.
Our backend seems absolutely clueless when it comes to recognizing what to anticipate and how to react and adjust pre-snap.

GlendoraRam wrote: ↑January 10th, 2026, 9:24 pm All anyone can really ask is why has McSnead failed to address this massive weakness?

Why does McSnead seem to prefer undersized corners that lack physicality?

The coaches and GM assembled this group, so it’s just not on the players… it’s on the coaches for selecting this group.

Exactly. I have been saying this forever now .

GlendoraRam wrote: ↑January 10th, 2026, 9:39 pm If I may add, this group doesn’t ever seem to anticipate what the opposition is running. In today’s game, one thing that stood out was the Panthers defense seemed to have a good grasp of what we were running, and adjusted as the play lined up.
Our backend seems absolutely clueless when it comes to recognizing what to anticipate and how to react and adjust pre-snap.

they’re probably not watching nearly enough film. Watching hours and hours of tape should be mandatory — honestly, it should be written into their contracts.

They never seems able to anticipate what the opposing offense is about to do. They’re always a step behind, completely lost, reacting instead of recognizing. It looks like they have no idea what’s coming, play after play. That’s not just a talent issue — that’s preparation, awareness, and coaching. At least front 7 improved .... pass rush was solid and they were good against the run today .

GlendoraRam wrote: ↑January 10th, 2026, 9:39 pm If I may add, this group doesn’t ever seem to anticipate what the opposition is running. In today’s game, one thing that stood out was the Panthers defense seemed to have a good grasp of what we were running, and adjusted as the play lined up.
Our backend seems absolutely clueless when it comes to recognizing what to anticipate and how to react and adjust pre-snap.

I agree
They lack consistent awareness, other than Lake, Curl, McCreary on the few plays he played. Many in the secondary lack awareness, especially in zone. They just run to their spot in the zone and sit there and wait for the receiver to come to them. We seen Forbes do it on the game winning 2 pt conversion vs Seattle. To be fair Durant has some good awareness but just struggle with consistency in coverage to the point he is a liability. Lake while aware, was a step to slow, hopefully it's rust.

brasilrams wrote: ↑January 10th, 2026, 9:48 pm

GlendoraRam wrote: ↑January 10th, 2026, 9:39 pm If I may add, this group doesn’t ever seem to anticipate what the opposition is running. In today’s game, one thing that stood out was the Panthers defense seemed to have a good grasp of what we were running, and adjusted as the play lined up.
Our backend seems absolutely clueless when it comes to recognizing what to anticipate and how to react and adjust pre-snap.

they’re probably not watching nearly enough film. Watching hours and hours of tape should be mandatory — honestly, it should be written into their contracts.

They never seems able to anticipate what the opposing offense is about to do. They’re always a step behind, completely lost, reacting instead of recognizing. It looks like they have no idea what’s coming, play after play. That’s not just a talent issue — that’s preparation, awareness, and coaching. At least front 7 improved .... pass rush was solid and they were good against the run today .

I agree with this too, more film study and executing what you are on film is needed, but I do think some instincts are a talent. Some players just got that "it" factor /nos lendor the ball. Rams secondary overall lacks it. That falls on Snead and Shula.

This is how a corner supposed to play in tight man coverage

Durant again getting beat in tight man coverage

I've made a ruling. Our CBs stink. No fixing. Just draft better guys with more football iq

It’s the nfl now.. it seems that nearly every game goes down to the last few plays. It used to be an all time classic game. Just Yesterday we had 2 games like this. I don’t even know that the better team even wins anymore. Second game yesterday, I just waited for the bears to come back. Are they so good? Are they better than the packers? I don’t even think so.

Hey I want you to stay in this room n watch every hitter we are playing this weekend and don’t come out for hours because the longer you stay in here well you are going to be a great pitcher when your are done………

You still remember coach I throw 82 not 96 right? Watching all this film is going to add MPH to my fastball? Well no but………

If you are lacking skill you are lacking skill. See Rams CB………

As a collective group Rams CB lack sufficient size,speed and length to cover today’s WR s. IMO it is the player evaluation and roster organization that is the problem. Poor tackling & blown assignments can roll over to scheme and coaching but the physical makeup of our group does not seem to measure up to other NFL DB groups. It seems the Rams do not seek athletic, twitchy long arm DB with height , tackling skills and the ability to cover bigger modern day WRs. As we also seem to favor short RBs who lack breakaway speed in player evaluation - our way of analyzing D prospects bares some review. Currently we do not appear capable of playing top D in the secondary and our eyes, stats and PPG bare that out.

DelMar wrote: ↑January 11th, 2026, 10:31 am

Very similar to the hit that Nick Scott put in Deebo in the NFC Championship. That was almost flag, luckily they picked it back up. In that situation just push him out of bounds, bc these refs are so inconsistent.

His helmet went into the guy’s shoulder. Announcers said he still led with his helmet. That was a lame call. Landman’s helmet had to be somewhere. Was Landman supposed to temporarily decapitate himself?

The hit on Adams that almost concussed him, that was truly helmet-to-helmet—and they almost reversed it!

bigklein wrote: ↑January 9th, 2026, 10:10 am Life was better when Curl, Kinchens, and Lake were operating together. Much like McVay relies on Stafford, Shula relies on Lake.

And a shutdown corner is needed.

Agree

White did nothing with Rams. Looks good today.

Lots of pressure, secondary still sucked

bigklein wrote: ↑January 11th, 2026, 11:43 am His helmet went into the guy’s shoulder. Announcers said he still led with his helmet. That was a lame call. Landman’s helmet had to be somewhere. Was Landman supposed to temporarily decapitate himself?

The hit on Adams that almost concussed him, that was truly helmet-to-helmet—and they almost reversed it!

Agreed! Bias was obvious

Cornell29 wrote: ↑January 11th, 2026, 12:00 pm White did nothing with Rams. Looks good today.

I guess he needed another year to recover. Bummer. The Rams tried him last year, and they tried Tre Brown this year. Maybe McCreary will thrive in what will hopefully be a few more games and then stick around.

Shula is trying everything he can